Do Not Build Your ‘Brand House’ On Rented Land…

Facebook, Google+ and other social networks are great tools, but in this week’s edition of This Old Marketing with Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose, they reference a ‘readworthy’ article that I’ll be referencing from now on. Here’s a sample:

Quick: Name one successful publisher that built its brand on the back of a social platform? Can’t do it? Neither can I, unless you count sites like UpWorthy. And those flying near the social network sun risk getting seriously burned. There’s a reason publishers don’t build on top of social platforms: publishers are an independent lot, and they naturally understand the value of owning your own domain. Publishers don’t want to be beholden to the shifting sands of inscrutable platform policies. So why on earth would a brand?

I’ve been using this ‘concept’ of rented land in my courses for years so I’m sure it’s not original. John Batelle’s article is definitely worth the read. You can download Joe and Robert’s podcast here.